List-based Formulae in the Avadanasataka

This article is a study of formulaic passages in the Sanskrit Avadānaśataka. Alongside a preliminary discussion of work on oral studies within Buddhism, and some recourse to wider oral studies on Indian texts, the focus of this article is a two-part study of formulae and constituents of formulae. The first part of the article details formulaic sections from the Avadānaśataka, from short formulae about wealthy merchants to lengthy counterparts that detail the consequences of a Buddha’s smile. The second part looks in detail at constituents of the formulaic passages. The passages are constructed around semantic lists, which either constitute the whole formulaic phrase or passages, or (sometimes along with verses) can be identified as the building blocks for the passages. To my knowledge (such as it is) this is the first study of semantic list-based formulae in a Sanskrit text